Mini department store with a big impact: the "Often" in Frankfurter Strasse was a crowd puller

The ornate wrought-iron gate at Frankfurter Straße 10 opened for the first time on November 30, revealing a charming backyard. Where once a metal goods retailer was located and used the staircase to measure goods, the mini department store "Often" offered high-quality design products and international cuisine for four days. There were also personal shopping consultations, a live concert by singer-songwriter Julie Kuhl, magic for children and cozy beats in the courtyard. It was hardly surprising that the ambience reminded some people of Berlin, Amsterdam or Vienna. But the fact that there is an unusual place with a hand-picked range of products in Offenbach's city center was. Curiosity and the number of visitors were correspondingly high: the 14 regional exhibitors could not complain about the interest in their products from the fields of fashion, art, crafts, jewelry and design. The results were correspondingly positive and promising, with more than 4,200 visitors counted by the organizers at the end of the fourth day.

"We are delighted that the premiere was a success," said Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke. "With the Often, we want to start the revitalization of Frankfurter Strasse. The mini department store was the first stop on the Test Space Avenue, which is intended to give people more reasons to visit Offenbach's city centre and show retailers its potential. Because that potential is clearly there - the Often has attracted attention with its quality, diversity and curated cultural program, introduced the location and the building to a broad public and interested retailers and created an atmosphere that needs to be carried forward and established from here. After these four days, it makes perfect sense to continue with the strategy and use Testraum-Allee to provide impetus for an attractive city center that will benefit businesses, owners and citizens alike."

This was also made possible by the uncomplicated and interdepartmental cooperation: in addition to the building inspectorate, public order office and fire department, Agentur Mitte, which is part of the City of Offenbach's business development department, also worked closely with the Offenbach Offensiv e.V. association and the Frankfurt project developer vav Fischer-Bumiller on the "Often" pilot project. The latter recently acquired the property at Frankfurter Strasse 10 and is delighted with the cooperation: "Germany's city centers have long since stopped running 'as if by themselves'. Since the internet, the question of location has been posed in a new and different way. That's why I'm delighted about the City of Offenbach's initiative, which will benefit everyone in the long term. "Often" was a great success that we can now build on."

The first talks with interested tradespeople took place over the weekend. "The positive response gives us hope," explains Božica Niermann, Head of Offenbach Economic Development. "There were over 20 expressions of interest. We will evaluate these and expand on them in the next step. Our declared aim is to further develop the location and establish sustainable retail, creative gastronomy or services at Frankfurter Strasse 10 on a permanent basis."

Frank Achenbach, Managing Director of Offenbach offensiv e.V., adds: "A spirit of optimism was palpable in 'Often'. Customers and visitors were surprised at what is possible in Offenbach's city center. Homeowners saw what can be done with a property. Last but not least, potential operators of new, attractive offers were shown the customer potential Offenbach has to offer. This makes me confident that this is also possible in other places in the city center and that new entrepreneurial concepts have a future in the city center."

The Testraum-Allee is one of a total of 16 future projects from the city center future concept and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. 200,000 euros have been earmarked for its implementation in each of the next two years.